Metabolic profile of pregnant, non-pregnant and male twohumped camels (Camelus bactrianus) of Iran

BACKGROUND: The knowledge in blood constituents isimportant for assessing the physiological status and the health ofanimals. Only a limited number of two-humped camels (Camelusbactrianus) were reared in Ardabil province, northwest of Iran.OBJECTIVES:The present study was carried out to find out whetherthe sex and pregnancy affect thyroid hormones, lipid andlipoprotein profile, and selected biochemical factors in healthyIranian Bactrian camels. METHODS:The evaluated herd containedtwenty clinical healthy Bactrian camels, aged between four andthirteen years. Six of them were non-pregnant, five in the late periodof pregnancy, and nine were male camels. Blood samples (10 mL)were collected from the jugular vein of camels in spring 2013 duringtwo consecutive days. All samples were centrifuged at 3000× rpmfor 15 min and sera were refrigerated at -21°C until analysis.Thyroid function tests were carried out by measuring serum levelsof thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free and total thyroxin(fT4), (T4), and free and total triiodothyronine (fT3), (T3) bycommercially available radio immunoassay kits. The biochemicalparameters were measured using a standard autoanalyser(Hitachi717, Boehringer. Mannheim, Germany). RESULTS: Thelevels of fT4, HDL-Cholesterol, ALP, and glucose in the sera ofpregnant camels were significantly lower than the male and nonpregnantcamels. The serum levels of other parameters were notsignificantly different among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Thepresent study revealed that heavy pregnancy has a profound effecton certain serum biochemical parameters in Bactrian camels.